Due date we could confirm for AY 2026-27
21 November 2026 for the taxpayers named in CBDT Circular 07/2026
Last checked 19 October 2026
Official sources
What is confirmed
| Item | Rule | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AIS PDF downloaded from the e-filing AIS page | PAN in lower case plus date of birth or incorporation as DDMMYYYY, no spaces. Official example: PAN AAAAA1234A and 21 January 1991 → aaaaa1234a21011991. | Confirmed |
| AIS JSON import on that same help page | PAN in upper case plus the same DDMMYYYY date. Official example: AAAAA1234A21011991. | Confirmed |
| TRACES Form 16 / 16A / 27D / TBR for a deductor | TAN in capital letters. Official example: AAAA11111A. | Confirmed |
| TRACES Form 16B / 16C / 16D / 16E for a taxpayer | Date of birth as per PAN, DDMMYYYY. Official example: 1 February 1980 → 01021980. | Confirmed |
| Form 26AS on TRACES | Date of birth as per PAN, DDMMYYYY. | Confirmed |
| Intimation received by email or inbox, taxpayer | PAN in small letters followed by date of birth. Official example: asbdf1234t12031985. | Confirmed |
| Form 16 PDF emailed by an employer | Not one format. Payroll teams choose their own password. Check the mail that came with the file. A pattern such as “first five letters of PAN plus date of birth” is not in the TRACES tutorial above. | Not confirmed |
| Belated return on 31 December 2026 | Not confirmed from a 2026 circular we opened. Circular 07/2026 extends a specified return due date from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026. Read the banner on incometax.gov.in for your own status. | Not confirmed |
Build the password, then open the file
The helper on the ITR password page fills the password from your PAN, TAN, or date of birth using the rows marked confirmed. It runs in the browser. It does not look your PAN up, and it does not try passwords you did not build.
Type the date as eight digits, day then month then year. 5 March 1992 is 05031992, not 5321992 and not 19920305. PAN letters in the AIS PDF password are lower case. The JSON import password uses the same PAN in capitals. Mixing those two is the usual reason an AIS file will not open.
Keep the original if the PDF is signed
Removing the open password makes a copy that opens without it. A digital signature on the original can show as invalid on that copy, because the file bytes changed. Download the unlocked copy for your own reading and keep the file the department or TRACES gave you.
Unlock only files you are allowed to open. The tool needs the real password. It cannot recover a password your employer never sent you.
Which date to watch
CBDT Circular No. 07/2026, dated 28 September 2026, extends the due date for furnishing the return for Assessment Year 2026-27 for the persons referred to in serial number 2 of the table below Explanation 2 to section 139(1), from 31 October 2026 to 21 November 2026. It also extends the specified date for the tax-audit report to 21 October 2026.
That is not a statement that every taxpayer’s belated return is due on 31 December 2026. If you are filing late or revising, use the due date shown for your return type on incometax.gov.in.
Tools that match these limits
- AIS and Form 16 password helper — Fills a confirmed format, then unlocks the PDF on your device
- PDF password remover — Type any password you already know